The first question, even after seven years of Test cricket is whether we have what it takes to come to terms with life as it is in the rarified atmosphere of this level of the game. For sure, we know how and why we achieved test status, much to the chagrin of the exclusive club of big boys playing the game. The ICC in the year 2000 had a different look to it, and some might even insist uncharitably, vested interest in adding one more Asian name to its meagre roster of Test playing nations. More than a hundred years of Test cricket and only nine nations of the world playing the game? Admittedly, it wasn't quite cricket. But having had the silver spoon thrust down its throat has Bangladesh really tried to fit the bill? Alas, to paraphrase Henry Miller, so hurtles this spear of query demanding to be caught on the shield of the mind. The answer is not blowing in the wind, indeed the answer is more questions of the unpalatable kind.

Forty-six odd Tests have thrown up a princely total of victories one could count on the fingers of an amputated hand. True, there had been the odd glimmer of something extraordinary lurking around the corner, but those were nipped in the bud by the odd and errant umpiring decision (read the Pakistan series) or a fatal dropped catch (read the series against Australia). But these are the usual traffic on the road and certainly not the first or the last time that Bangladesh might come across such slips between the cup and the lip.

No, there is more to it than meets the eye. It was Henri Toulose-Lautrec, not one with any cricketing pretensions mind you, who once said, " If we could only look instead of gawking, we would see horror in the heart of farce." We really need to look inwards towards where we stand rather than where we are intending to go. Motivations, as Kissinger was wont to repeat more often than not, must stem from self assessments.

Cricket, Test cricket more so, is a complete package. It comprises money, infrastructure, planning, coaching, wickets, an intense level of domestic cricket and lastly, a team of skilled, talented and committed individuals who can actually play the game on its merits. It would need a really brave soul in Bangladesh to claim that we have all of these bases covered.

At the moment money we should be having in plenty, with more in the pipeline over the next few years. I am certain it is being spent and will certainly continue to be so, in good faith. The question is, are the proper infrastructures being readied? We are already behind the clock on this front, compared to the rest of the countries we are expected to do battle with. Grounds and facilities are at a premium and coupled with the lack of planning cricket at the formative years of a budding cricketer is hardly allowing the growth of such individuals to take the game they love to the next level.

Sub standard wickets at almost every level of the game is extracting a heavy price on the abilities of both batsmen and bowlers. Of course there are constraints, but which test playing opposition is going to take such constraints into consideration? The most recent two and half-day Test is a case in point.

We do seem to have an organised coaching system in place, but to have a pool of players conditioned to the dictates of Test match cricket requires such a system to perform over and beyond the call of duty. We can only wait and watch the grass grow and the coaches to deliver.

The cornerstone of any Test playing country worth its salt, is its domestic cricket. Do we have such a cricket phenomenon as a domestic competition? Erratic schedules, indifferent playing conditions, recalcitrant teams and poor bowling attacks seem to be the order of the day for our domestic format of the longer version of the game. How else to explain what just happened earlier in the week? A team that lost twenty wickets in less than a day of Test cricket cannot just be held accountable by itself only. The fact that Bangladesh did not play any Tests for thirteen months should not also be a reason or excuse. Aminul Islam Bulbul batted for nine hours in our inaugural Test. Bangladesh had not played a Test for thirty years until then.

We are underperforming, and this is not coming from a rocket scientist. Nor do we need such a scientist to tell us how to set things right. The problem is time, which has this uncanny habit of running out when we most need it. It is somewhat of a paradox really, Test cricket is a kind of marathon. To be good at it we would need to sprint to catch up with its demands. It would be tempting to blame everything on the players and the captain for our recent and customary debacle. But that would be taking the easy option. As Confucious said, when the finger points at the moon, the fool looks at the finger. There really is more to what meets the eye.

(The author is a former national cricketer)